The Sand Phoenix
by Teddylonglong
Summary: Harry Potter had won the war, married the most amazing witch of his time, had a beautiful baby and was a successful businessman, when he made a most generous decision towards his younger self. Completely AU, partly OOC, Time travel. Rating might still change!
1. Chapter 1

**The Sand Phoenix  
** **by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 **COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC! Time travel!**

 _It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it. If you don't like it, don't read it.  
_ _Reviews are very welcome, as they inspire my muse._

* * *

Twenty-four-year-old Harry Potter let out a deep sigh, causing his wife to eye him in clear concern.

"Harry, what's wrong?" she enquired, worriedly.

"Ah," Harry began to respond, sighing again. In fact, he deemed himself very lucky. He had won the war, had married the most amazing witch of his time, had a beautiful baby and was a successful businessman. He nestled deeper into his favourite corner on the sofa next to his wife in their control room as they called it.

The room was fairly small and only contained of a dark blue leather sofa as well as a small white table and a playpen for their son, however, it was surrounded by four large screens, one on each wall. One showed the inside of Harry's shop at Hogsmeade, the next the headmistress' office at Hogwarts, which was his wife's working place, the third screen showed the entrance hall of Gryffindor Manor, where the young family was living, and the fourth changed between the main street in Hogsmeade and alternating spots at Hogwarts. Each of the screens were combined with a door that allowed them to step through immediately upon noticing that their presence was requested at one or the other main spots of their lives.

"I want to fetch little Harry and raise him here," Harry finally explained. "I really don't want him to suffer all these years at the Dursleys'."

"Harry, are you sure that you want to do that?" his wife asked, eyeing him in clear concern. "You might greatly change everything, it could cause a time paradox, and Dumbledore…"

"Dumbledore," Harry scoffed. "Yes, if you're sure that you don't mind, I'm certain that I want it. Maybe we can improve things and save some friends the natural way without having to pop through time and cause people to ask questions."

His wife of five years smiled, knowing exactly what he meant. Harry was a sand phoenix, able to travel through the sands of time. Several times, things had happened, which he then went to remedy, for example to save Severus Snape and Fred Weasley from death. However, each time, things had been a little awkward afterwards, mostly caused by the fact that he had only found out about his ability right after the war. He still wanted to go back and save his parents, Sirius, Remus and Tonks, however, he still was not sure how to proceed without making the situation worse.

"Of course I don't mind. Just be careful dear," she said in a soft voice, her eyes locking into emerald orbs, and Harry felt himself being pulled into a bear's hug. "Will you get him as a one-year-old like James?" she then asked, curiously.

Harry shook his head. "No, I think there should be some age difference between them," he decided, "not alone because it would be too hard for either of us to take twins to work with us, but also because they shouldn't be too close, otherwise, it would be too sad for them to not be able to attend Hogwarts together." Hearing his wife agree to his strand of thought, he transformed into his phoenix form and flashed away in a small splash of sand.

HP

Five-year-old Harry Potter was sitting in his cupboard under the stairs nursing a bad sunburn from working in the garden under the blazing summer sun all day, while his cousin Dudley had been holding his birthday party. Unfortunately, Harry had not been allowed to participate, since no one wanted to see let alone hear a freak. _'I wished I had parents or someone who loved me,'_ he thought in desperation, as he drifted into an uneasy slumber, hearing like from far away that Dudley was just having his birthday dinner together with his friends.

All of a sudden, a small pop made him open his eyes in surprise.

"Hello Harry," a voice whispered, sounding strangely friendly. No one ever used such a nice voice when speaking to him.

"Hello," he whispered back, trying to make out who was speaking to him in the sparse light that entered his cupboard, only to jerk back in surprise upon seeing a figure crouched on the floor next to his mattress. "Who are you?" he asked in disbelief.

"I'm a good friend of your parents, and I came to take you with me," the friendly voice replied. "You can live with us. We'd like to have you, and I promise that we won't treat you like a house-elf."

"I'd like that," Harry agreed, almost sure that this wasn't real. _'I must be dreaming,'_ he thought, feeling very sad that it was only a dream. So often, he had already dreamt that someone came for him, someone who wanted him and would be able to love him, but Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had made it very clear that no one wanted a freak like him.

"I'm a freak though," he warned the figure in a barely audible voice. "Will you still take me with you?"

"Of course Harry, and no, you're not a freak at all." Strangely, his visitor's voice remained as friendly as it had been. "I'm going to change into a bird now, and you need to grab my tail feathers and not let go," the visitor instructed him.

 _'What?'_ Harry thought in disbelief upon seeing the transformation in front of his eyes. However, the idea of getting away from his relatives was so tempting that he quickly grabbed the tail feathers and firmly held on.

An instant later, Harry felt the world turn around. The movement became faster and faster, before his cupboard completely vanished from the sight.

 _'Now that's gross,'_ Harry thought in bewilderment, only to blink, when the movement became slower and finally stopped.

"Hello Harry," a soft, female voice greeted him, making him look up in surprise.

"Harry, this is my wife," the man who had fetched him from his cupboard explained, only to add, "If you're comfortable with it, you may call us Mama and Papa, because that's what we wish to be for you. We wish to be your surrogate parents, while your real parents can't be here for you. They're here in the portrait though."

"Harry, my dear," another soft voice greeted him, and Harry quickly followed the voice with his eyes.

"Mummy?" he asked in surprise, seeing a beautiful woman with red hair and green eyes.

"Yes, I'm your real mummy, and this is your daddy," she replied, pointing to the man next to her.

 _'Is that true?'_ Harry wondered, giving his Mama and Papa a questioning look.

"Yes Harry, it's true," his new Mama reassured him, before she picked up a baby from a playpen that Harry had not even noticed before. "This is your baby brother James, and I hope that you're going to become good friends. Now shall we have dinner first? Afterwards we'll show you the house."

"Dinner?" Harry enquired, shooting the woman a horrified look. _'Where am I supposed to cook?'_ he wondered, curiously looking around.

"Don't worry, you're not supposed to cook," his new Papa informed him. "We have house-elves to do the cooking."

HP

Harry hesitantly trailed behind his new parents, still unable to believe his luck, through a large living room into the most interesting kitchen which Harry had ever seen. While one wall was equipped with all the applications needed in any kitchen, one wall was occupied with an enormous window that allowed the view onto the sea, a sight which Harry had never seen before. Another wall was completely covered by screens that displayed all kinds of different rooms. Some of them were empty, others were occupied by children and a few adults. _'Cool,'_ Harry thought, eyeing the various screens with interest.

His new Mama ushered him into a seat at the table, causing Harry to look at her in confusion.

"Is something wrong?" she asked in a soft voice, carefully placing the baby into a high chair.

"I'm not allowed to sit at the table," Harry explained, barely audibly. "I'm a freak."

"No Harry, you're not a freak, you're a wizard just like little James and me," his new Papa explained. "The Dursleys are muggles, non-magical people, and they hate us because we have magic. That's why they called you freak. You're a normal little wizard and a very good boy, and you're of course allowed to sit at the table and eat together with us."

"Harry, please forget everything that the Dursleys taught you," his Mama added. "You'll never return to them."

Giving his new parents a wide-eyed look, Harry nodded in understanding and hesitantly took the indicated seat, while Papa called out, "Dobby, Winky!"

Harry's eyes widened in disbelief, when two strange creatures suddenly popped up right next to the table.

"Dobby, Winky, this is little Harry," his Papa explained. "From now on, he's going to live with us as our son until he'll be of age to enter Hogwarts as a student."

"All right Master Ha… Dobby understands," Dobby replied before turning to little Harry. "Hello little Master Harry. Dobby is very happy to have yous here, and if you needs something, just calls Dobby. Dobby wills always helps little Harry Potter."

"Thank you," Harry muttered, wondering when he would wake up from the most pleasant dream that he could remember having. He stared at the table with a combination of disbelief and amazement, when all of a sudden food appeared on the table. There were many plates filled with different kind of food, and it looked mouth-watering. Uncertain what he was supposed to do, he merely watched how his Mama placed a little of everything on his table and motioned him to eat.

Not used to eating much, Harry could only stomach very little, however, what he tried was delicious, and a small smile played on his lips as he watched Mama feed James with a small spoon.

"Is that all you can eat?" Mama asked, kindly, just when an alarm rang coming from one of the screens. "Oh, please excuse me," she added. "I'm wanted in the headmistress' office. I'll be back shortly I hope."

Looking after his wife, Papa finished feeding the baby and suggested, "Shall we go and take a small tour around the manor, before you go to bed?"

Harry nodded, eagerly, and quickly followed his Papa out of the room, after he reassured him that Dobby and Winky would clean up after them and then give James a bath and that he did not have to do anything.

"Your Mama is the headmistress of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry," Papa explained, "the school which you're going to attend once you turn eleven."

"Is it really true that magic exists?" Harry asked, uncertainly. His relatives had always denied its existence.

"Yes," Papa replied, grinning, as he led him out of a side door.

"Wow," Harry blurted out, staring at the beach and the sea that were spread out in front of his eyes. "Where are we?" he asked in surprise.

"We're at Gryffindor Manor, the house which one of the founders of Hogwarts built for his family. It's situated on the Scottish coast, right next to Hogwarts. Godric Gryffindor is our many times great grandfather," his Papa explained, secretly wondering when little Harry would ask him about their relationship.

"Now since we can still come back here at any time, let's go back inside, and I'll show you your room," he suggested, causing Harry to eagerly follow him upstairs to the second floor.

Harry stared at the beautiful room in awe. It was large, even bigger than Dudley's room, and was furnished with a comfortable looking four-poster bed, a wardrobe, a desk along with a chair and a bookshelf. Everything was kept in different shades of blue. One side of the room was completely occupied by an enormous window going out to the sea.

"This is really my room?" Harry asked in disbelief, only to add, when he saw his Papa nod, "It's absolutely great."

He felt his Papa raise his chin with his forefinger. "Harry, this is what you deserve, not a cupboard under the stairs. Now this door here leads to your bathroom, and we expect you to either take a bath or a shower every morning or evening. Don't worry," he added, as if he was able to read Harry's thoughts, "the water is agreeably warm. If you want to take a bath, Dobby or Winky will be happy to draw it for you."

"Thank you," Harry replied, smiling. "Thanks for allowing me to live with you. I really like it a lot." He inefficiently tried to hide a yawn, making his Papa smirk.

"I think it's quite late for you, young man, so I suggest that you go to bed." He pointed his wand at Harry, and in the blink of an eye, Harry found himself dressed in dark blue pyjamas with a couple of coloured cats running around.

"Wow, how cool," Harry blurted out, only to chuckle when one of the cats let out a small meow. He obediently climbed into the large bed, only to look at his Papa in shock, when the older wizard frowned.

"Harry, is that sunburn?" he asked in a stern voice, causing the small boy to nod.

"Yes, I had to work in the garden the whole day, and it was very hot," he admitted in a small voice.

"Dobby!"

The elf appeared with a loud crack. "Yes Master, what can Dobby do?" he asked, glancing at Harry.

"Please go to Severus and ask if he has something for sunburn suitable for a five-year-old," Papa instructed the elf, who popped away instantly.

A moment later, Dobby was back, handing Papa a small box with cream, which Papa carefully applied to Harry's skin, causing Harry to sigh in relief as he felt the pain subside.

"Harry, if you're ever in pain, you must tell Mama or me immediately," Papa instructed him in a no-nonsense voice. "Do you understand me?"

"Yes sir," Harry replied, feeling absolutely amazed, when his Papa smiled at him and gently tucked him in. "Good night Harry," he said and carefully placed a kiss on his forehead, just when his Mama hurried into the room.

"Oh thank Merlin you're still awake," she said and equally gently kissed him on his forehead. "Good night sweetheart."

"Good night," Harry replied sleepily, his eyes already drooping close.

HP

"That went well," older Harry said, contentedly, when the adults stepped into the adjacent nursery together.

"Yes, that's true, but what are we going to do with him during the day? We don't have time to home school him. Do you want to send him to a muggle primary school?"

"No," Harry replied in a firm voice. "I have an idea, and we should hurriedly pull through with it." Seeing his wife look at him with a combination of annoyance and curiosity, he explained, "Since the Shrieking Shack isn't needed anymore, we can simply re-build it to a primary school. With ours and our friends' children, there are enough children at Hogsmeade and Hogwarts to fill a class. What do you think, Headmistress?" he added, grinning.

"Well, since you're the owner of Hogwarts, I don't get anything to say, do I?" she replied, playfully, before admitting that it was a wonderful idea. "Why don't we invite the others to discuss the plan?" she suggested.

"Brilliant," Harry commented and pulled a tablet PC out of his robe pocket to summon his friends, while his wife opened the connecting door to the control room.

A few minutes later, Fred and George Weasley and their wives Alicia and Angelina entered the room, closely followed by Neville and Luna and Susan and Draco.

"What is it…"

"… that was so urgent…"

"… that it couldn't wait until our usual Sunday afternoon?" the twins enquired in their usual singsong that made Harry listen in amusement and his better half roll her eyes in annoyance.

"Well, sit down and have a glass of butterbeer, while we tell you the news," Harry replied, smirking.

"Another baby," Luna spoke up, giving Neville a dreamy smile.

The five couples all had babies who were between one and three years old, and their children were already used to playing together on the beach at Gryffindor Manor on a weekly basis, sometimes even more frequently, as the friends took turns babysitting the other children.

Fred, George and their wives were the owners of the large joke shop that was situated right next to Harry's computer shop, Neville was the Herbology professor at Hogwarts, while his wife Luna was the owner of the Quibbler, having her own office and shop two houses further down the road from the twins' shop. Susan and Draco were living in a cosy house opposite of Harry's shop, and while Susan was working at the Ministry of Magic, Draco was Harry's co-worker. They did not only sell all kinds of PCs all over the magical world but also gave computer classes and had much work to do with maintenance of the PCs they sold as well as maintaining the Wizardnet, as Harry owned the patent for the charm that made the PCs and the Wizardnet work within the magical world, and no one but his wife, Draco and Severus Snape were privy to it. They also entertained a small internet café in one corner of the shop.

"Well, one thing is that I fetched my younger, five-year-old self to raise him here," Harry explained, causing a multiple gasp. "Please don't call me Harry in front of him, as he doesn't know who I am, at least for the time being." Seeing everyone nod their agreement, he quickly diverted the attention, "and the other point is that we've decided to build a Hogwarts Primary School on the grounds of the Shrieking Shack. What do you think?"

"Brilliant," Angelina spoke up. "Please make it begin at the age of four."

Everyone laughed. Not only Angelina and George but also Alicia and Fred had three-year-old twins, and the four little mischief-makers used to keep the adults on their toes.

"The other day…"

"… Snape taught the four to brew a prank potion…"

"… which had us sing a whole day," the twins complained, causing everyone to grin in amusement.

 _'Serves them right,'_ Harry thought, knowing that everyone else shared his sentiment.

Ever since Harry had rescued him from dying from Nagini's bite and had taken him two years into the future to his own time, Severus Snape had given up teaching at Hogwarts. Between the joke shop and the Quibbler on the Hogsmeade main street, he had his own apothecary and, together with his wife, lived in the upper floors of the building. They also had a four-year-old son, Albus, who was good friends with the two couples of twins.

"Who did you have in mind as teacher?" Neville spoke up, giving Harry a questioning look.

"Good question," Harry replied, pensively.

"Maybe Ginny," Susan said, slightly hesitating. "She seems to greatly dislike her work at the ministry."

"Oh Susan, could you please ask her then?" Harry replied. "And if we need a second teacher, maybe Andromeda. She might be willing if Teddy attends the primary school anyway."

The eight friends spent the rest of the evening planning the re-building of the Shrieking Shack and the new Hogwarts Primary School, and it was already after midnight, when the visitors left through the connecting door to the main street.

 _'Thank Merlin everyone is living in the neighbourhood,'_ Harry thought, as he closed the door behind his friends. _'I hope little Harry will like it here but won't like it too much to enjoy his own time at Hogwarts with everyone not being grownups but eleven like himself. It'll be a strange feeling,'_ he mused, before he followed his wife into the master bedroom, wondering when his younger self would realise that he found himself nineteen years into the future.

 _tbc...? (Depending on the feedback)_


	2. Chapter 2

**The Sand Phoenix  
** **by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 **COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC! Time travel!**

 _It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it. If you don't like it, don't read it.  
_ _Reviews are very welcome, as they inspire my muse._

* * *

When five-year-old Harry woke up in the morning, he was surprised to still find himself in the beautiful room, where he had gone to bed the previous evening. _'It wasn't a dream,'_ he thought, wondering if he was just still stuck in it and Petunia would shout for him to make breakfast any minute now.

However, to his amazement, it was not Petunia but his new Papa who entered the room, carrying the baby.

"Good morning Harry. What do you think of breakfast?" he asked in a soft voice.

Harry glanced around himself, panicking for a moment, before Papa reminded him that he did not have to cook any meal.

"Good morning Papa, hi James," he said, chuckling when the baby looked at him with a smile and reached out to him.

"Come downstairs when you're ready," Papa told him and left the room.

Harry hesitantly entered the shower, only to be pleasantly surprised at the most agreeable water temperature and the clothes which he found laid out for him in the bathroom.

 _'I get to wear new clothes, and they fit,'_ he thought, as he happily dressed into the blue trousers and the red T-shirt that was decorated with a small dog that was eagerly waggling its tail. Harry chuckled, happily, feeling very grateful towards his new father.

When he arrived downstairs and headed into the kitchen, Papa was just feeding James, who was happily munching his breakfast.

"May I help?" Harry asked, hesitantly, causing James to cheer at him, while Papa smiled.

"You may try if you wish," he said, gently.

 _'That doesn't sound very encouraging,'_ Harry thought and worriedly reached for the spoon to feed his new brother. To his surprise, however, it worked well, and ten minutes later, James' plate was cleared.

"Well done, Harry," Papa commended him. "Now please eat your own breakfast, and then we have to leave for the shop. This morning, Albus will join us. He's only four, but I think that the two of you will be well able to play together."

"Who's Albus?" Harry could not help himself from wondering aloud. Noticing his mishap, he quickly placed his hand in front of his mouth, sending Papa an apologetic look.

"Harry, it's fully all right to ask," Papa said, gently, before he explained, "Albus is my godson. His father, Severus Snape, owns the apothecary two houses from here, and he has to brew an important potion this morning, for which he can't have Albus join him in his lab. It would be too dangerous. I'm sure Albus will be happy to be able to play with you. He's a very nice boy."

Harry smiled, feverishly trying to suppress all thoughts of other children calling him freak. "Is Albus a wizard, too?" he asked in a small voice.

"Yes Harry, all of our friends here in Hogsmeade are magical," Papa confirmed, before he lifted James out of his high chair and said, pleasantly, "Now, let's go to the shop. You'll also get to know Draco, who's working together with me. Maybe, if we're not too busy this morning, Draco can take you to the bookshop to buy some books for you. All the children of our friends are only between one and four years old, so that you're the oldest. Thus, there won't be much of interest for you in the play corner."

 _'I'm going to get a book,'_ Harry thought in delight, as he followed Papa and James through the connecting doors into the shop, inwardly chuckling at how James was toddling along. _'He's really cute,'_ he thought, somehow feeling very much attracted to the baby, who suddenly slid his tiny hand into his. _'It's so cool to have a brother,'_ he thought, happily.

HP

When Harry stepped into the shop with little James walking by his hand, they were not alone with their father. To Harry's surprise, there was someone, who was just busying himself with one of the screens that were put up on tables.

"Good morning Draco," Papa greeted the man, before he introduced him as his friend and co-worker Draco.

'Oh right, he said he worked together with someone, who could take me to the bookshop,' Harry recalled, smiling at his Papa's friend.

"Hi Harry and if it's not my Jamie," Draco greeted the children, playfully throwing James up into the air only to catch him again right away.

If Harry felt a little shocked at the display, he relaxed immediately upon seeing James' cheer.

"My, aren't you a big boy already?" Draco then turned to him, causing Harry to nod. "How old are you, Harry?"

"I'm five," Harry replied, somehow feeling proud to be such a big boy.

"Five," Draco repeated, pensively. "Then you'll be well able to learn how to work with the computers. Let me just finish this, and then we'll have a look and see if we can find a game that you can play on one of the computers."

"Thank you," Harry replied, happily, and for the time being followed little James into the play corner that was set up in one corner of the shop, absentmindedly registering that Papa told Draco that Albus would join them shortly.

Suddenly, Harry noticed that James remained next to the playpen, raising his arms and giving him an expecting look.

"Do you want me to put you in there?" he asked, tentatively, causing his small brother to smile broadly. "All right, let me try then," he replied, unsurely. He carefully lifted the baby, but too afraid to hurt the little tyke, put him down onto the floor quickly. "Sorry James, I'm not big enough to lift you."

Noticing that James' lower lip began to quiver dangerously and the smile vanished from his face, Harry could not resist the urge to help his brother and with the help of accidental magic wished the baby into the playpen, inwardly sighing in relief when it worked.

He then looked around the play corner. There was a large table with six chairs around it and a bookshelf that held about a dozen children's books. Standing in front of the bookshelf, Harry pulled out a book called _'The Magical Cat'_.

During the last year, he had been attending playschool together with his cousin, and for some reason, the teacher had occasionally singled him out and taught him how to read. She had told him that she deemed him more intelligent than his classmates, but that he should not speak about the matter with the Dursleys. Of course, the Dursleys had not noticed that he could read a little, but now, Harry realised that it did not matter anymore.

He pulled one of the chairs next to the playpen, sat on the chair and opened the book. "I'm gonna read you a book, but I'm not good at reading yet, sorry," he told his brother, before he began to read the book about a cat that was very fond of herbs and used to gather various herbs and brew potions for all the other cats who were living in the Forbidden Forest.

HP

Unbeknownst to little Harry, Draco and his older self were watching him closely.

"He's really doing well," Draco said, making older Harry smile.

"Yes, it was a good age to fetch him I think. Of course, it would be nicer for him if everyone was the same age instead of being the big brother to all of them, but it would be even harder to leave and attend Hogwarts just by himself, so…" He slowly trailed off.

"I fully agree," a soft, silky voice spoke up from behind them.

"Hello Uncle Hawwy and Dwaco," four-year-old Albus greeted them, before he let go of his father's hand and hurried into the play corner to join Harry and James.

HP

Harry had just about finished reading the little book to his brother, when he realised that another boy was standing nearby eagerly listening to the story. To his relief, the other boy remained calm and did not interrupt him. Only when Harry was finished and closed the book, did the boy speak up.

"Hi, I'm Abus Snape."

"I'm Harry, hello Albus," Harry replied, smiling.

"Sowwy Hawwy, can you wead that again please? I lub that stowy," Albus asked, giving him a pleading look.

"Sure," Harry replied, shrugging. He waited, while Albus pulled a chair over to join him and James, before he opened the book and read the whole story once more.

"Thank you Hawwy," Albus said, once Harry finished the book. "Can you play Wizawd's Chess?"

"No," Harry replied, regrettably, giving the younger boy a hesitant look.

"Do you want to try?" Albus asked, eagerly.

"Of course," Harry agreed and observed with interest how Albus summoned Cicero, his family's elf, and ordered him to bring him the Wizard's Chess set.

Time flew by with Albus teaching Harry how to play Wizard's Chess, and the two boys had much fun to say the least. After two rounds of playing, they ventured to the shelf with toys and decided to play with the Lego Hogwarts Express for a while. Too soon for their liking, the adults came to call them for lunch.

"Shall I eat with you?" Albus enquired.

"Yes, your father is going to join us for lunch, or at least that's what he said," Draco explained, before turning to Harry. "Did you have fun, Harry?"

"Yes." The response came immediate. "I love playing Wizard's Chess with Albus. It's great," Harry replied, smiling happily, thinking, _'I've never met such a nice boy, and I've never played anything so interesting.'_

HP

Albus seemed equally pleased, and by the time Severus Snape joined them for lunch, he noticed that his son seemed to be extremely happy.

"The children seem to have had fun," he spoke up, quirking an eyebrow at the older Potter boy in silent question.

"Albus taught Harry how to play Wizard's Chess," Draco explained, smirking.

"It was gweat, Daddy," Albus blurted out. "Can I stay here in the afternoon, too?"

"Why don't the two of you join me in the potions lab for a while to brew fruit drops?" Severus suggested. He had worked until late at night, as his wife had been busy at the ministry all evening, so that he was well able to take the afternoon off in favour of his son and the younger self of his best friend.

"Yeah," Albus cheered. "Let's do that, Hawwy. We can still play Wizawd's Chess later on."

"Kay," Harry agreed immediately, smiling happily.

HP

During the afternoon, Severus taught Harry and Albus how to brew strawberry drops, and Harry thoroughly enjoyed himself. It was fun to prepare the ingredients, even more so than cooking, because it was like a small challenge to Harry to measure everything exactly and cut it like he was told, and it was an additional plus that the drops were absolutely delicious.

"Uncle Severus, thank you very much," he thanked his new friend's father, after they had cleaned up their workspaces.

"You're welcome. You've done very well," Severus commended him, causing Harry to smile broadly.

 _'That was much fun. I hope Uncle Severus and Albus will invite me to brew together again,'_ he thought, when he left the apothecary together with the Potions Master and his son.

On their way to Harry's home, Severus and Albus led Harry for a small detour to the joke shop to introduce the two couples of twins to Harry and to share some fruit drops with them.

Harry immediately liked the red headed children. They were very friendly and seemed to be quite funny like their parents, although he slightly regretted that they were only three years old. ' _They're a bit small,'_ he thought, glad that Albus was at least four and of the same size as himself, so that there was not a big difference.

HP

During the following weeks, Harry became good friends with the four twins as well as with Maja, Luna's and Neville's two-year-old daughter, and Gaius, Susan's and Draco's two-year-old son. He and Albus became inseparable, and from this first day onwards, they did everything together. Sometimes, Draco or Harry's Papa taught them about computers, at other times, Severus instructed them how to work in the potions lab, and when all adults were busy, the two friends occupied themselves playing together in the play corner of ' _Wizardnet_ ' as the computer shop was called. They also spent much time babysitting James and playing with him.

When everyone gathered at Gryffindor Manor on Sunday afternoons, older Harry, Fred and George often took the children flying, and little Harry realised soon that he absolutely loved to roam the air above the beach on his children's broom looking for the Snitch.

HP

Almost too soon, the summer holidays ended, and the Hogwarts Primary School opened its doors. To Harry's enthusiasm, he and Albus could attend school together, and their teacher, Andromeda Tonks, was an elder witch, who was strict but very friendly. There were ten children in their class, and Harry found that everyone was very nice. No one called him a freak, and everyone was magical anyway. They learned to read, write and do easy Math, and they also studied easy magic using children's wands.

The two couples of twins had just turned four in August and were able to enter the playschool class together with a couple of other four-year-olds from Hogsmeade, and their class was taught by Ginny Weasley.

 _'I like Mrs. Tonks more,'_ Harry thought one day, noticing that Ginny cast him a strange look during their lunch break, which the children spent on the Hogwarts grounds.

"She's the younger sister of Fred and George," his Papa informed him and advised him, "Just ignore her as much as possible."

HP

It was two years after little Harry had joined his new family that Severus Snape said to older Harry, "You must be incredibly gifted at hiding your abilities."

"And why might that be?" Harry enquired in surprise, causing the Potions Master to smirk.

"Your younger self is as gifted at Potions as your mother or Albus. I still remember the dark times, when I was forced to teach the dunderheads at Hogwarts, but you never showed any of such ability, although you must have had it, that's for sure."

"Oh well, maybe you were just too intimidating," Harry replied, smirking. "My younger self seems to thoroughly enjoy himself brewing together with you and Albus. I just wonder what his reaction will be when he arrives at Hogwarts only to be confronted with your younger self."

Severus let out a long sigh. "Believe me, I'm worried about that as well. Do you think I should give him a letter for my younger self and tell him everything?"

Harry remained pensive for a moment, before he agreed. "We shouldn't tell anyone else, but maybe in your case, it would be more helpful than dangerous," he said, thoughtfully. "Let's wait and see how everything develops. I wonder if and when Harry is going to find out that he's nineteen years in the future."

"In the worst case, you'll have to tell him right before sending him to the past. He won't take it well I'm afraid. He's very close to Albus."

"I'd love to just keep him here, but unfortunately, that's not possible," Harry said in a grave voice.

"It's not, but at least we have the knowledge and capability to support him beyond belief with your time travel ability as well as the computers," Severus replied, reassuringly. "I believe that it's about time for the two of us to get together and begin to plan the path for your younger self."

"Yes please, I'd like to enlist your help with that, and I've also assigned Draco a special project using a tablet PC," Harry said, pensively. "We also need to discuss how much to tell my younger self in advance if at all."

"Well, we still have four years to plan everything," Severus replied, calmingly. "Don't worry too much about it. Since Harry will be able to return here at any time, at least during the holidays, we can always make amendments."

"Yes, that's true," Harry agreed, feeling very much consoled by his friend's advice. "Thanks Severus," he added, causing the Potions Master to quirk an eyebrow in clear amusement.

HP

When little Harry turned eight years old, his Papa began to teach him the Animagus transformation. Harry still had three years to practise transforming into a sand phoenix and flash himself through time, and older Harry knew that he had been able to become an Animagus fairly quickly. Nevertheless, he did not want to take any risk and decided to teach his younger self early.

As could be expected, by Christmas, Harry was able to do the complete transformation. He could fly and flash himself all over Hogsmeade, however, his Papa had yet to tell him about his time travelling abilities.

At the same time, Albus practised to transform into an eagle. He had been torn between the lynx form of his father and some kind of bird, however, had finally decided on the bird in order to be able to communicate with Harry.

The people of Hogsmeade soon became used to the unlikely couple of a phoenix and an eagle, who often spent their time after school flying over the small town.

As much as everyone admired the two friends, all the adults, who knew about Harry's background, were worrying a lot about a certain time two years into the future, when Harry would have to leave for a very dark time in the past. Even if they hoped that they had evened the path for little Harry with their knowledge of the past, their knowledge of modern technology and their long-time planning, they knew that it would be hard for him to leave his friends and only find his parents and their friends as children.

It was the Weasley twins, who finally came up with the most striking idea of a solution.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you for your kind reviews!_


	3. Chapter 3

**The Sand Phoenix  
** **by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 **COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC! Time travel!**

 _It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it. If you don't like it, don't read it.  
_ _Reviews are very welcome, as they inspire my muse. Thank you so much for your kind feedback!_

* * *

On Harry's tenth birthday, Fred and George Weasley gave Harry a dog, stating that even if he could not take his friends to Hogwarts with him, he could always take his dog.

"He's a crup..."

"... and we've named him Cronus…"

"… which is the name of the Greek God for time," they added, grinning, causing Harry to stare at the dog in confusion.

Cronus was very cute. His fur was white, brown and black, he had a funny face and dark brown eyes that reminded Harry of chocolate.

'I took the liberty of bonding to you,' Cronus informed him, telepathically.

"That's great. Thank you very much," Harry replied, causing Cronus to tell him that he would also be able to speak with him through telepathy.

From that time onwards, Cronus accompanied Harry and Albus everywhere. Even when they had to go to school, the puppy was allowed to come and sleep under their desk.

When his Papa, however, suggested that Harry should practise taking the dog with him in his phoenix form, Harry laughed in disbelief.

"Papa, why would I want to take Cronus with me in my phoenix form?" he asked, incredulously.

"Won't people think Harry's crazy if they see him flying around carrying a dog with him?" Albus agreed, causing the adults to smirk.

"That would be unfortunate," Draco agreed. "There might be occasions when Harry has to flash somewhere and might want to take Cronus with him."

"Oh all right," Harry said in understanding.

Albus nodded. "Oh well, that's true. Can Harry take me with him then, too?"

"Sure," Draco replied, shrugging. "You just have to grab his tail feathers to flash with him. It might afford quite some magic for Harry to take both you and Cronus with him though."

"Let's practise on our way to school tomorrow morning," Harry decided, causing Albus to chuckle at the idea of so much trouble just to replace a three-minute walk by flashing.

HP

The adults decided to only speak with Harry about his ability and at the same time necessity of time travel at the beginning of the summer holidays before his eleventh birthday, even if Harry, his wife, Draco and Severus had spent years preparing for that time.

On the first day of the summer holidays, older Harry and Severus took Harry and Albus to The Rolling Freezer as Astoria Zabini's ice-cream shop was called. At eleven o'clock in the morning, the shop was still not overly crowded, and the four wizards nestled into a corner, while the boys were eagerly discussing the menu. Once the children had received their ice-cream and the adults their Latte Macchiato, Severus cast a Silencing charm around their table, giving older Harry a reassuring nod.

"Harry," older Harry hesitantly began to speak. "We need to speak with you about something." Seeing both children hang on his lips, he continued, "As you know, your Animagus form is that of a sand phoenix."

Harry nodded, glancing at Albus.

"A sand phoenix has the special ability to not only flash from one place to another but also through the sands of time," older Harry continued, causing Harry to give him a questioning look.

At the same time, Albus let out a huge gasp. "Is that why you have the same name and look the same?" he blurted out, causing Harry to stare at him in confusion.

 _'Oh Merlin, Albus must be highly intelligent to make the connection so quickly,'_ older Harry thought.

He gave Albus a short nod, before he explained to his younger self, "When I fetched you here at the age of five, I took you nineteen years into the future."

The boy stared at his father in disbelief. "Papa," he asked, hesitantly, "do you have the same name as me because you are me then?"

"Yes Harry, I'm your older self," his father admitted, giving his younger self a worried look, half-covered by a smile.

"Dad?" Albus asked, turning to his father, "Are you my older self then?"

"No Albus," Severus replied in a soft voice, "I'm your father."

 _'Oh no,'_ older Harry thought. ' _We should have left this conversation to our wives. Neither of us is good at this, even if we had years to plan this conversation._ '

"Anyway," he spoke up, again, "It's necessary that you attend Hogwarts nineteen years in the past."

"No," Harry refused, vehemently.

"Then I'll go with Harry," Albus immediately said. "I'm not going to attend Hogwarts without Harry."

The two fathers exchanged an exasperated look, before Severus reminded Albus that he would only be able to go to Hogwarts in a year's time.

'Harry, just agree to everything. I have a plan,' Albus telepathically informed his friend, who gave him an unobtrusive nod before turning back to his father.

"So what? I have to flash nineteen years into the past to go to Hogwarts?" he asked in a small voice, tears welling in his eyes. "Can I come back here during the holidays then?"

"Of course Harry," his father reassured him. "You can come back at any time. If you spend time here, you just have to see that you arrive back at about the same time, so that no one misses you. Maybe Uncle Severus, your Mum or I will go to visit you from time to time to help you with things," he added, pensively.

"All right," Harry replied, recalling Albus' instruction. "Mummy will be at Hogwarts, won't she?" he suddenly remembered to ask.

His father let out a deep sigh. "She won't be the headmistress yet. Professor Dumbledore is still the headmaster at that time and then Granny Minerva. But Mum and all of our other friends will be students. You already have a lot of friends in that time; it's just that they're all the younger selves of the people who you know here, which means that they don't know yet."

"Uncle Severus," Harry addressed the Potions Master, "will you be a student in that time, too?"

"No," Severus replied, sighing, "At that time, I was the Potions professor at Hogwarts."

"You'll see, everything will turn out well," older Harry said, reassuringly, knowing that he still had to tell his younger self a lot about the war and his years at Hogwarts.

HP

"Let's only tell him what's necessary to know for his first year," his wife instructed him later the same evening. "We shouldn't bother him with the war yet, considering that he's going to come home during the holidays anyway."

"You're right as always," Harry replied, smiling, before his smile turned into a mischievous grin. "Come with me," he said, gently pulling her towards the bedroom. "Jamie is going to miss Harry so much, maybe we should work on another baby to keep him busy."

"If that's the only reason…" his wife protested, glaring at him.

"Of course it's not," Harry reassured her, gently capturing her mouth with his lips.

HP

During the following weeks, Harry and Severus took much time to speak with Harry about the past. While Severus gave him a global overview about Death Eaters and their activities, Harry specifically told him about his first Hogwarts year and showed him the most important scenes on a tablet PC. At the same time, he suggested better solutions to the problems than how he had dealt with them. Finally, Draco taught Harry about several features on the tablet PC, which he had developed for Harry's use at Hogwarts, for example, against Professor Quirrell's secret guest.

Eventually, Harry also told his younger self about Horcruxes, however, reassured him that he would not have to worry about them, as Draco had written a program, which would be able to summon and destroy them with a few clicks on his tablet PC.

"Will I be able to do that, and when do I have to do it?" Harry asked, uncertainly.

"Not before the beginning of your second year, and your mother and I are thinking about accompanying you to the past for that event," his father promised. "If not, we'll teach you exactly what to do, when you come home next summer."

HP

On the day before Harry's eleventh birthday, which was a Sunday, Draco and Aunt Tracy, whom Harry knew to be the healer at Hogwarts, visited Gryffindor Manor right after breakfast, and Harry's father and Draco ushered the boy into his room, closely followed by Aunt Tracy.

"Harry, we told you about the Horcruxes, right?" older Harry asked, causing the child to nod in apparent apprehension.

"Good. Now, what we did not tell you so far, and let me assure you that I only found out about it when I was seventeen," older Harry continued, "that there's a Horcrux hidden behind your scar." Ignoring his younger self's gasp, he explained, "During the last couple of years, Draco has not only invented an App to summon the Horcruxes to a certain place, where another program can cast a spell to destroy them, he also wrote a program to eliminate the Horcrux from your scar."

"All right," Harry replied, seemingly frightened.

"Harry," Draco spoke up in a soft voice, "as you can imagine, we had no way to test the program, so I can't promise that it'll really work."

"Okay," Harry voiced his understanding.

"I'm here to closely monitor you," Tracy spoke up, reaching out to take Harry's hand. "If you feel pain, just squeeze my hand or tell me, so that I can give you a potion."

Harry hesitantly agreed and observed with mixed feelings how Draco pulled his tablet out of his robe pocket and after a few well-placed pats on the touch screen gave him a sharp look. "Are you ready, Harry?" he asked, gently.

"Yes," Harry replied in a barely audible voice, knowing that he could fully trust Draco.

An instant later, he felt a huge amount of pain, which subsided as quickly as he squeezed Tracy's hand, and after a moment, a black cloud erupted from his scar, which his father changed into cow dung before simply vanishing it with a flick of his wand.

"That was all, Harry. You did that very well," Draco commended him, causing Harry to smile.

"Thanks Draco for taking it out," Harry replied, noticing that he felt better than ever before.

HP

Later the same day, when his parents' friends joined them together with their children, Albus pulled him aside. "Let's go for a walk with Cronus," he suggested, and Harry immediately agreed.

"Harry, I promised that I was going to make a plan," the younger boy told him, wearing a mischievous look.

"Yeah, right, what is it?" Harry asked with interest, giving his best friend a curious look.

"We must practise, so that Cronus and I'll be able to both go with you when you travel back in time," Albus blurted out. "I'll go and attend Hogwarts together with you in the past."

"Oh that's great," Harry replied, feeling very happy at the idea. "Won't Uncle Severus and Aunt Amelia be worried when you just leave with me though?"

"No," Albus replied, firmly. He chuckled. "I've spoken with Uncles Fred and George, and they have promised to help. When your Dad…err, oh well, when Uncle Harry travels to the past to buy your school supplies, he's going to take them with them. They told him they want to do some shopping in that time, but in fact, they're going to buy my school supplies. If my parents are going to be worried, they will tell them where I am," he added, grinning.

"Wow, that's so cool," Harry replied. "It'll be great if we can attend Hogwarts together. Won't it matter that you're only ten though?"

Albus shrugged. "No one knows anyway. If anything happens, my parents are already adults in that time. I think Mum's not the Minister of Magic yet then, but the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Oh well…" He slowly trailed off.

"Mum and Dad told me that I'm not supposed to tell anyone that I know them from this time though," Harry said, pensively.

"No, we shouldn't," Albus agreed, his forehead scrunched in thought.

HP

On Harry's birthday, he received many items which his parents and their friends deemed useful for him to have at Hogwarts.

From his parents, he received his own tablet PC, and to Harry's surprise, it was not only equipped with the Wizardnet and everything else that was common in this time, but also with a new software made by Draco that would allow him to communicate with people through time.

"With the Timegate App, you'll be able to communicate with all of us here in this time," Draco informed him.

"And it works flawlessly," older Harry spoke up. "I've gone back and tried it out last week."

"Harry," Severus addressed older Harry. "If you go and give Salazar Slytherin one of these, I'll ask Amelia to see to it that Draco and you'll get the Order of Merlin first class for this invention."

Draco chuckled, while his friend rolled his eyes, pointing out that he should be happy with the portrait of the four founders in Gryffindor Manor.

"It wouldn't work so far in the past," Draco informed him, "as we need a certain amount of electricity present in the air to be able to re-charge the tablets by our usual spell. There's no electricity coming from muggle devices one thousand years in the past."

To Harry's amusement, Albus received his own tablet, as everyone still assumed that he would need to communicate with Harry through the device.

From Fred and George, Harry received a copy of the Marauders' map, and Harry and Albus leaned over the parchment with interest.

"How come that the primary school and the retirement home for teachers aren't on it?" Albus blurted out.

"Oh that reminds me, I should go to the retirement home and say good-bye to Granny Minerva and Granny Poppy before leaving," Harry suddenly said, causing his parents to nod and smile.

"The map was made by Harry's parents…"

"… and at that time…"

"… the primary school…"

"… and the retirement home…"

"… didn't exist yet," Fred and George replied in their funny sing-song that always made the children laugh.

"Your father set up both buildings after the war," Luna explained, giving Neville a dreamy look.

HP

During the following weeks, Harry and Albus secretly planned their departure to the past in detail.

"There's one problem," Albus said to Harry one day.

"Why?" Harry enquired, raising an eyebrow at his best friend.

"I think people have to pay fees to attend Hogwarts, but how can I do that, when my parents don't know in advance that I'm going to leave for Hogwarts next month?" Albus asked in apparent concern.

Harry paled at the news. "Let's go and ask Hogwarts," he then suggested.

"All right Harry, thank you," Albus replied, knowing that Harry was able to communicate with the castle, and the children had already snuck into the castle to speak with the kind, old lady a couple of times.

Together, they made their way through the shortcuts through Gryffindor Manor and hurried through the fortunately empty castle to the founders' quarters and right into the Parlour, which was the only room at Hogwarts where they could freely communicate with the castle. At all other spots, Harry would have to place his hand against the wall, and no one but him would be able to hear the castle's response.

Harry quickly explained the problem to Hogwarts, causing the castle to chuckle.

"Don't worry, I'll see to it that it looks as if his school fees were already paid when he arrives for his Sorting," she promised in a soothing voice. "I'll also see to it that you'll have the proper entry in the book of magical children."

"Thank you so much," Albus was the first to reply, and after some more minutes of talking with the castle, the two boys returned home to collect Cronus and visit the two pairs of nine-year-old Weasley twins.

HP

The nearer the first of September came, the more excited Harry felt. When his father announced that he was going to take him to King's Cross in the morning, so that he would only have to travel through time to get to board the Hogwarts Express, Harry protested vehemently.

"Thanks Dad, but I'll be able to travel from here," he said in a firm voice, hoping to sound more confident than he was.

"No, let Papa take you to the station and travel from there," his mother agreed with his father, causing Harry's thoughts go haywire.

 _'But how can I take Albus with me then?'_ he thought, before he realised that his parents would not be able to assess if he flashed to the past or somewhere else.

As soon as he was in bed and his parents had retired from his room, he switched on his tablet and whispered a short notice to Albus. "Wait in your room in the morning. I'll fetch you from there."

"All right. I can't wait to go to Hogwarts. Good night Harry," Albus replied, instantly.

HP

In the morning, Harry said good-bye to his mother and everyone else, promising to keep them updated through the Timegate App, and allowed his father to flash him and Cronus to King's Cross. He learned how to get onto the platform, before his father instructed him to change into his phoenix form and flash exactly nineteen years into the past.

"All right, Dad. I'll contact you later on," Harry promised and flashed away, thinking of Albus in his own room.

HP

"Thank Merlin here you are," Albus whispered. "It wasn't easy to sneak away from the primary school and return here."

"Ooops, sorry," Harry replied in surprise. "I didn't think about that at all. Now, let's go. Do you have your luggage?"

"Yes," Albus confirmed, showing Harry a shrunken trunk, which he kept in his robe pocket.

Contentedly, Harry transformed back into his phoenix form and, after making sure that Cronus and Albus grabbed his tail feathers flashed nineteen years back in time and to King's Cross at the same time, glad that he and Albus had used the last month to practise flashing through space and time on a daily basis.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you very much for your kind reviews!_


	4. Chapter 4

**The Sand Phoenix  
** **by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 **COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC! Time travel!**

 _It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it. If you don't like it, don't read it.  
_ _Reviews are very welcome, as they inspire my muse. Thank you so much for your kind feedback!_

* * *

Together with his two guests, Harry arrived at King's Cross, just where his father had taken him earlier. _'I just hope this is the first of September and nineteen years into the past,'_ he thought, as he quickly transformed back into his human form.

"I hope this is the correct time," he quickly whispered to Albus, who pointed at a large family with several children who were pushing trolleys over the platform.

"At least it's the first of September," he replied, grinning. "As to the year, we'll just have to see."

Together with Cronus, they made their way through the barrier and arrived on platform nine and three quarters, staring at the red steam engine in amazement.

"Let's get onto the train," Harry suggested, and the two boys quickly made their way through the crowded platform.

"Look, your Mum," Albus suddenly whispered, causing Harry to look around in shock.

"Oh right, she's eleven like me," he recalled. "Oh well, then the time must be correct, too."

They quickly boarded the train and were happy to find an empty compartment, where they occupied the window seats with Cronus nestling down on their feet.

A few minutes later, the door opened and a shy looking boy with a chubby face hesitantly looked into the compartment. "May I sit here?"

"Of course," Albus was the first to reply, before recognition set in.

"Neville," Harry blurted out, happy to see the other boy, whom they both knew so well from the future.

Neville gave him a surprised look. "Yes, I'm Neville, Neville Longbottom," he admitted. "Who are you though? I can't recall having met you before."

"I'm Harry Potter, and this is my best friend, Albus Snape," Harry explained, smiling. _'Oh Merlin, I already made a mess,'_ he thought, horrified.

However, to his relief, the door opened again, and a girl with busy brown hair entered the compartment, followed by a red headed boy who strangely reminded Harry of the Weasley twins.

The newcomers introduced themselves as Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley, and Harry felt relieved, when Albus said their names this time.

The five new first-years spent the whole train ride speaking about what they knew about Hogwarts, their childhood, and the four magically raised children tried hard to answer all of Hermione's infinite questions about the magical world.

"Where do you think you're going to be sorted?" Hermione suddenly enquired.

"Ah, Gryffindor," Ronald Weasley replied. "My whole family has been there."

"I don't know, but maybe Hufflepuff," Neville said, seemingly uncertain. "My granny thinks that my magic is very weak."

Harry and Albus shook their heads. "She can't know that," Albus replied.

"Especially not before you've even arrived at Hogwarts," Harry added, smiling at the boy, whom he knew so well.

"My father was in Slytherin, so…" Albus continued, unsurely.

"Slytherin is where all the dark wizards come from," Ronald spoke up. "Don't tell me that your father is Severus Snape, the greasy git of Slytherin."

"I don't mind where the Hat sorts me, but I'd love to be together with Albus, and if possible with Neville," Harry quickly said, rescuing Albus from having to respond to Ron.

"I'll probably be in Ravenclaw, although I'd prefer Gryffindor, because I like Professor McGonagall a lot," Hermione finally explained, causing a discussion about the four heads of the houses.

Harry and Albus smiled, when Fred and George Weasley came by for a few-minute chat, however, they knew better than to show recognition.

About half-way to Hogwarts, Draco came by to greet Harry, together with two boys, whom Harry found extremely stupid looking. Having seen Neville's reaction earlier, Harry and Albus both kept themselves from greeting Draco with enthusiasm. However, they spoke with the other boy for a while, and when Draco extended his hand to offer Harry his friendship, Harry gladly agreed.

"Well, I hope to see you in Slytherin, Potter," Draco finally said and left, pulling the other two boys with him.

Before they knew how the time flew by, they reached Hogsmeade, and Hagrid, the half-giant caretaker, ushered them to the boats.

The view onto Hogwarts was just beautiful. Although Harry and Albus had grown up right next to Hogwarts and knew every corner of the ancient castle, they had never seen her from this side of the lake.

"Mum told me this view onto Hogwarts would be the best, and it truly is," Harry said, happily, causing Albus, Neville and Susan, who was sharing the boat with them, to agree.

Susan had not introduced herself, and Harry and Albus prevented themselves from saying anything to let her know that they knew her as Draco's wife in the future.

'I just hope the Hat is going to sort us together,' Albus suddenly thought to Harry. 'Maybe we should have asked Hogwarts for help in this matter as well.'

 _'That's true,'_ Harry thought, wondering if and how he'd be able to learn telepathy. He unobtrusively gave his best friend a comforting nod.

HP

Together with all the other first-years, Harry and Albus stood in the Great Hall waiting for their turn to be sorted. At the same time, they unobtrusively let their eyes wander over the high table as well as the other first-years, trying to assess whom they already knew from the future.

 _'Not many of the teachers,'_ Harry thought. _'Uncle Severus of course, Granny Minerva, Hagrid and Professor Flitwick, but that's it. From the students, we know about half. I wonder if I'm going to be sorted together with Mum.'_

Slowly, the crowd around them became smaller, and in the end, only Harry and Albus remained.

McGonagall looked up from her list and gave them a questioning look. "Who are you, boys?" she enquired. "I don't have you on my list."

"I'm Harry Potter, and this is my best friend, Albus Snape," Harry replied, trying to keep his voice void from uncertainness.

"Harry, of course," McGonagall replied and motioned him to come and sit on the stool.

Feeling the anxiousness coming from his friend, Harry gave him an encouraging nod and proceeded to sit on the stool, looking up in shock when the Hat suddenly clouded his vision.

'Hmm, what I'm going to do with you?' he suddenly heard a faint voice speak straight into his mind. 'You'd fit in all houses.'

'I don't mind,' Harry replied, feverishly hoping that he would end up together with Albus.

'You'll do great in Slytherin then,' the Hat told him and shouted into the Hall, "Slytherin."

While the Slytherin table erupted in applause, Harry realised in shock that the students from all the other house tables, who had previously at least clapped their hands when someone had been sorted, merely stared at him in clear disbelief.

He made his way over to the Slytherin table, where he quickly slid into the empty seat next to Draco

A moment later, Albus took his seat next to Harry, causing Harry to sigh in relief.

"Mr. Potter and Mr. Snape, I'd like to speak with you for a moment after the feast," the headmaster addressed them, as he rose from his chair. "Sorry boys, after your house meeting in Slytherin," he corrected himself after a quick discussion with the Slytherin head.

Harry and Albus exchanged an uncomfortable look but quickly became distracted, when Draco enquired, "I wonder what he wants and why you weren't on their list."

"I've no idea," Harry replied, innocently.

"Are you the son of Severus Snape, our head of house?" Blaise asked, giving Albus a sharp look.

"Yes, but he doesn't know about me," Albus whispered, giving Harry a questioning look. 'Oh no, we didn't even think about that. We should have changed my last name,' he thought to his friend.

Harry unobtrusively nodded, thinking, _'Oh well, in the worst case, we'll just have to tell the headmaster the truth. I'd love to tell Draco about the future.'_

HP

Right after dinner, the first-years were ushered out of the Great Hall and almost had to run to keep up with the prefect who led them towards the dungeons.

"Hurry up, we need to gather in the common room for our house meeting, and Professor Snape isn't very patient if we're not on time," he informed the first-years as he rushed ahead.

The first-years had just taken their spots in the middle of a large circle, in which their housemates sat on the floor, when the professor strode into the common room.

 _'Uncle Severus,'_ Harry thought, feeling very much relieved at the sight of the older wizard whom he knew so well.

The professor, however, showed no sign of recognition – ' _Oh well, he can't know us now, can he?_ ' – and began to hold what turned out to become a long monologue about house unity, curfew, rules and punishment in Slytherin. Finally, he instructed the first-years to introduce themselves.

 _'Oh no, what are we going to say?'_ Harry and Albus exchanged a horrified glance.

"I grew up with my parents and their friends and my little brother Jamie. Albus is my best friend, Cronus is my familiar," he said, pointing at the small dog who was stretched out in front of the fireplace together with two cats, "and I'm a sand phoenix Animagus."

The other students politely clapped their hands, and Albus hesitantly spoke up. "I also grew up with my parents and my friends, especially Harry. I like brewing potions." With that, he shrugged, glancing at Harry, and everyone began to applaud.

"Very well, first-years go to bed," Snape instructed the students, "Potter and Snape follow me to the headmaster's office."

"Excuse me sir," Harry spoke up, when they followed the professor through the now empty halls of the dungeons, "why does the headmaster want to speak with us?"

Snape turned half around quirking an eyebrow in silent question. "I thought that the two of you would enlighten us," he replied, before he continued to walk in a fast pace.

"He seems like a different person from your Dad," Harry whispered to Albus, who nodded in clear disappointment.

Finally, they reached the gargoyle that was guarding the headmaster's office.

"Lemon sherbet," the professor spoke up in a bored voice, before he strode ahead and stepped onto the self-moving staircase, closely followed by his two most annoying first-years.

HP

Severus' thoughts went haywire. He absentmindedly noticed that the headmaster offered them a lemon drop and had almost taken one in confusion. ' _Who's that boy?'_ he wondered. _'Snape was a muggle, plus the boy looks like a younger version of myself. However, I've never fathered a child. Merlin, I didn't even sleep with anyone.'_

He was brought out of his musings, when the headmaster addressed the children. "Harry my boy, why did you never reply to your Hogwarts letter?" he enquired, causing the boy to squirm in his seat.

"I never received a Hogwarts letter, sir," he then replied, politely.

"And you?" Dumbledore turned to the other boy, who strangely had the same name as the headmaster, which confused Severus even more. _'Even if I had a child, I'd surely not name it after the annoying old coot,'_ he thought.

"I didn't receive my Hogwarts letter either," Albus spoke up.

Dumbledore cast the second boy a pensive look. "Whilst I know that Harry is the child of Lily Evans and James Potter and grew up with his relatives, I'm not sure if I've ever met you before. Albus, who are your parents?"

"Amelia and Sev Snape," Albus replied, seemingly truthful, causing the headmaster to look at him with curiosity.

"I don't have a child, headmaster," he quickly spoke up, while the headmaster strode over to his bookshelf, pulling out the large book of all magical children.

"He has a proper entry in the book," Dumbledore stated, born on the fifth of July, 1980, to Amelia Bones and Severus Snape."

"What?" Severus blurted out in shock. "Albus, I swear and I'm willing to take a wizard's oath that I haven't fathered a child, let alone with Amelia Bones."

"Maybe you've been obliviated?" the headmaster suggested, causing Severus to glare at the old wizard.

"I'm sorry for questioning you so much my boy, but where did you grow up?" Dumbledore once more addressed the child, who was fidgeting in his seat.

"Together with my parents and my friends," Albus stammered, giving the adults a seemingly frightened look.

"Well, as he didn't grow up with me, I suspect that he comes from a different dimension," Severus spoke up, "especially since Potter also said in our house meeting that he grew up with his parents who are clearly dead in this dimension."

Harry and Albus shook their heads. "Professors, are you willing to swear us a wizard's oath if we tell you our secret?" the Potter boy enquired, and Severus was about to flare up at the boy's insolence, when Dumbledore stopped him and agreed.

"I swear on my magic to not reveal your secret to anyone," the old wizard went ahead, motioning him to follow.

Angrily, Severus followed his mentor's example, before he glared at the boys and demanded, "Tell us now."

HP

 _'Uncle Severus really isn't nice,'_ Harry thought, as he hesitantly began to explain.

"Albus and I grew up in the future. He was raised by his parents and I by my older self and his wife," he said, truthfully.

"I wasn't supposed to attend Hogwarts in this time," Albus spoke up, "but Harry was told that he had to and he didn't want to be here all alone, so I decided to attend Hogwarts together with him in this time."

"We still need to tell Uncle Severus from our tablet PC later on," Harry added in a small voice, "but I'm sure he'll understand."

"Nice story," Snape sneered, "but I still don't believe you." With that the Potions Master rose from his chair and left the room, leaving the two first-years with the headmaster.

"Harry, Albus," Dumbledore spoke up in a gentle voice. "Is that really true?"

"Yes sir," both children replied, simultaneously.

"You won't send us back to the future, will you?" Albus enquired. "We really need to attend Hogwarts in this time."

"Of course, Harry must attend Hogwarts now, and since you're here, I don't see a reason why you shouldn't attend classes together with him, provided that your parents approve of the matter," the headmaster replied in a soft voice, before adding as an afterthought, "How in the world did you manage to travel to this time at all?"

"I'm a sand phoenix," Harry admitted, "able to travel through the sands of time."

"Shall I contact my parents now and ask them?" Albus offered, pulling his tablet PC out of his robe pocket.

"Yes please," the headmaster agreed, eyeing the strange device with apparent interest.

Seeing that Albus cast him a hesitant look, Harry pulled out his own tablet. "It's all right, Albus. I'll call Uncle Severus." Noticing that the headmaster stepped behind him to get a good look at the tablet, he pressed a couple of buttons on the display, before the Severus Snape from the future appeared on the screen.

"Hello Uncle Severus," Harry said, smiling. "I just wanted to tell you that we've both been sorted into Slytherin. Oh, errr… Albus is here with me. I hope that's all right with you. Sorry Uncle Sev…"


End file.
